Uneven brake wear, grinding noise, and brake rotor shadowing....

[Jake.Ski]

Only on my passenger side front i have this problem. 1 of the pads has an extreme angle of wear and is difficult to remove. Could this pad have warped or something? I re-greased the caliper pins and they slide freely but still i get the grinding noise, and it seems like the brake pad is stuck. Im getting a shadowing affect on the rotor. The jeep doesnt coast like it used to either.

Should i just replace the pads both driver and passenger, or just get a whole new caliper for the passenger side?

Also since the brakes are farely new if i replace the passenger side pads, do i also need to replace the drivers side?

 

[Okura_hubby]

check your alignment..

 

[Phil + Neela]

The extremely worn pad and the shadowing are signs of constant contact and extreme heat. Are you sure the caliper moves freely? This sounds to me like a classic frozen caliper. If it moves freely, then check the mounting bracket becasue that might be bent.

 

[Bulli]

The extremely worn pad and the shadowing are signs of constant contact and extreme heat. Are you sure the caliper moves freely? This sounds to me like a classic frozen caliper. If it moves freely, then check the mounting bracket becasue that might be bent.

What he said.

 

[Jake.Ski]

what bracket do i check? and do i have to take it to a shop to see if its bent?

 

[Minimike]

Your caliper has 2 pins that allow it to slide left and right. If the top pin is seized you will notice the bottom of the pad will be worn more then the top and vice versa if the bottom pin is seized. Even restricted movement can cause this. (DO NOT CHECK ALIGNMENT) as someone else said 9 years of being a mechanic and I have never seen alignment cause excessive and uneven brake wear. If the pins are seized try to knock them out with a punch then proceed with removing what is causing the issue (i.e. rust, or white corrosion)

Also someone might have used regular grease to lubricate the pin and rubber and I may have swelled causing the bind. If the rubber seems "puffy" and soft you will need to replace it.

Once worked on a 2001 Cherokee and it had the same problem , after many hours and calls to dodge we found out that the piston in the caliper was slightly to small for the caliper bore and when you released the brake pedal rather then the piston relaxing it would sit crooked causing uneven wear. This is rare though.

 

[Jake.Ski]

last time i looked at it i re greased the pins and they moved in and out freely. The rubber boots seemed like they were in great shape, and the pins also were in good shape. I cleaned off the old grease from the pins, boots and holes that they go in, then regreased. I used i beleive its called copper paste, its what was reccommeded.

And by bottom do you mean if your looking at the pad, the bottom of the arch, lower, smaller side of the pad is worn more and at an angle.

That same pad is also pretty difficult to remove compared to the other pads which just slide out...

 

[Jake.Ski]

by freely should these pins come once pressed in? should they spring back instantly?

 

[Minimike]

the pins should move with little force being applied. some vehicles are looser and some tighter. As long as they are not hard to move they should be fine.

 

[Jake.Ski]

well one slides a lot easier than the other. is that fixable, or do i order a new pin?also one of them has a black plastic peice on it? what is that for?

last why would this make the brake pad hard to remove?

 

[Minimike]

the brake pad should move somewhat easily. If the paint is too thick or if there were casting marks left on the pads where they rest on the bracket it could cause them to stick. You can take a die grinder and remove excess paint or burrs. The pads should slide nicely in the bracket.

As for the pin have you pulled it out of the caliper? have you inspected the bore for rust? or white corrosion? let me know.

 

[Jake.Ski]

no i have not inspected the bore this is my first time touching the brakes....

and for the pad, i thought the paint could have been the problem and i hit the corners tabs with some sanding paper.

all of this noise started happening after i had locked up my brakes on the auto bahn...

 

[Jake.Ski]

and yes i removed the pins from the caliper with ease... thats why i dont think they are seized. but i could be very wrong!

 

[Minimike]

Depending on your speed you may have hurt your pads (also depending on your pad quality) If it was a full lock (tires not rotating) then you should be fine (no friction between the pad and rotor), if you have ABS or did not lock up your brakes but did break VERY hard you have have possibly overheated your rotors and or pads. Cheap organic pads get glazed and they are easily damaged from heat. They become hardened after a high heat brake event. This can cause them to squeal. This also happens in hot stop and go city traffic where pads don't get a chance to cool down.

Some cheap aftermarket rotors have thinner walls (and inferior quality metal) and cannot dissipate heat very well. This heat build up and is transferred into the pad and wheel hub assembly. This heat damages your pads under severe braking.

If your pads are organic (your generic cheapest white box style) you might want to get some semi-metallic or ceramic pads. They will be able to take the heat and will not be damaged as easily by heat.

 

[Jake.Ski]

the stop was at full lock. no ABS.
alright so new pads no matter what because i dont know what kind are on there right now..

so when i change out the pads what should i look for?

 

[Minimike]

when you talk to the service adviser or part person tell them you want semi-metallic pads or ceramic pads. Express to him that you do not want organic pads. If he does not understand you find another parts store lol keep me updated.

 

[Jake.Ski]

Ok well ill see what i can do i think i will be ordering off the internet since im overseas, but when i go to replace them what all needs to be checked out to make sure that there is no other problem besides the pads?

 

[Minimike]

just make sure the piston pushes back into the caliper without to much effort. Just crack the bleeder screw and press the piston in with your hands and quickly tighten the bleeder screw back up. or (this is easier,but can cause damage to the caliper if you screw up) take the cap of your brake fluid reservoir and using a a "C" clamp push the piston back into the caliper. You want to make sure you are pressing it in straight, if it crooked you may damage the caliper bore and or piston.

 

[Jake.Ski]

bleeder screw?

 

[Minimike]

sorry, forgot you haven't had much experience with brakes. The brake system is hydraulic, and as such can have no air in the system. The bleeder screws are located on the calipers and wheel cylinders usually at the top most part of the caliper or wheel cylinder). You open them to let air out of the hydraulic system when you are bleeding the brakes. I would recommend the second option (remove the reservoir cap and press the piston in with a "C" clamp), because if you let air into the system you will have little to no braking power.

Just be careful when you are pressing the caliper in and it will be fine. If it takes excessive force to push back in (as in it wont budge or you feel you will brake it if you push any harder) then it needs to be replaced. I have always recommended replacing calipers in pairs.

Only note I have to add. If you find it hard to push the caliper piston in there is a chance that the flex line which connects your caliper to your vehicles steel brake lines might have collapsed causing the caliper to "stick". This is why opening the bleeder screw is a good idea because if you can't press in the caliper with the bleeder closed but you can with the bleeder open then you have a bad flex line.

Hope this helps.